Ford Expedition Rust and Paint Problems

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Just throwing my hat into the ring -- bubbling paint on the hood and tailgate. We purchased the car new, and I bought the full bull bumper to bumper warranty covering 100K or 5 years. Ford offered me $400 to fix what really is a $2,000+ job. Ford should be ashamed. My first Ford purchase, too. Love the truck, hate the paint and the way Ford (and our local dealers) are handling the situation.l

Anyone pursued a class action? Have you heard? That seems like the smart/easy approach.

I gave up on the individual suit. Too expensive and time consuming. If anyone knows of a class action suit I will be glad to join. I now have 100k miles on the 2008 and it runs like a dream...but I will have to fork over about $1200 sometime soon to get the hood and tailgate repainted. I understand that Ford claims no responsibility as there is a subcontractor painting the vehicles within the Ford plant. Nice. I have had Fords since my first Model A in 1965 and never had this sort of problem that a 4 year old vehicle has peeling paint. The local Ford Dealer told me they have to repaint EVERY Ford Expy that comes in used before they can sell it. So the dealers are getting screwed as well.

Is there any way to tell if an Expedition ever had, or is likely to develop the bubbling paint issue? I know that you can see the bubbling on the back lift and hood, both on the outside as well as the underneath, but I am concerned that it might have been painted and will come back. I have looked at bunch of 07 and 08 Expy EL's and all had the issue except one (or it was painted by the previous owner). But the strange thing was that it was the only one of the bunch that was manufactured in the previous model year (2006). I've been reading up on this issue all over the place and still am thinking about taking the plunge. I love the room and the ride, but I don't want to shell out almost $20k for a 6 year old vehicle with 70 - 100k miles on it and have the paint blistering. I know there are people who have sued Ford and won, but I am not sure that I would be able to do that if I bought the EL knowing about the bubbling paint. All I could do is either ask the dealer to repair it or knock some money off the price. I would prefer to buy one that doesn't have the problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Easy Answer...if it doesnt show bubbling it has been repaired. ALL Expy's from 2000 olr so onward have this problem. If the vehicle has an aluminum hood and aluminum tailgate it will bubble. If it is done correctly following the Ford TSB the repair should not come back. Should is the operative word. Live with it or dont buy one. If it hasnt blistered by 70K miles it just may not. Mine started at 75K miles. Expect to pay about $1500 for the repair. So there is your final deduct for the purchase. If you decide to sue; it will take a lot of your time and effort but you would probably win. I just bit the bullet and will have mine painted and pay for it and write it off. Still the best large SUV out there for room, ride, etc. I have now 110K miles on mine.

I have narrowed my search for a 2007 Expedition EL to 2 vehicles, one with the Load Leveling System and one without. Both have the heavy duty tow package and I will be hauling our 5,500 lb, 31' Forest River Surveyor SV-294 travel trailer. We will be using the EL for more than just camping. Is there anything that should make me decide one way or the other concerning the LLS? I've read that they are expensive to repair. Can they be converted to coil suspension? Are there lift kits available for it if I need it for towing? Our Forest River road low to the ground and I had to put a 3 inch lift kit on it in order back it up our inclined driveway without scraping the bottom. This was with our Ford E350 Super Duty, which road pretty high off the ground. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Thanks Obus. I know bubbling paint doesn't look very nice, but dings and dents never bothered me on a car, so I don't think bubbling paint will. As long as it doesn't rust through. I'm more concerned with the reliability of it getting us where we need to go safely. GM has the only other vehicle with the room and size to do what we are looking to do, but after many many GMs, I've gotten burnt one too many times with their lack of quality and won't go back. My Ford E350 has held up very well, which is the reason I've decided to pursue the Expedition.

The Expy will sag a LOT more than the E350 as it has a F150 frame. Bear that in mind. The rear shocks are special and expensive on the standard EXPY with the roll stability SRS system and REALLY more expensive with the load leveller system. Price them and you will see. It wont rust through as aluminum doesnt rust. And thats how Ford weasels out of the "perforation" paint/metal warranty on the tail gate and hoods. As they are aluminum and dont perforate. They just shed the paint and get chalky. Nice thing about the EXPY EL is you can put a number of full size 4 x 8 sheets of plywood or paneling and still close the tail gate as Ford has the patented fold down flat 3rd seat. You have to horse the 3rd seat out of a GM big suv as it wont fold flat. I would find out if the LLS really will bring the hitch ball back up to where you want it...ask a Ford Dealer..and be sure to tell him your trailer weight (with all the gear in it). Good Luck.

The frame isn't what determines the sag, it isn't like the frame bends. It is the suspension which determines that, and since 03 the Expedition has departed from shared hardware with the F150 since it has the IRS. That said, the LLS has a limited service life before it needs attention. It would seem that 5 or 6 problem free years is what you get. It can be converted to coils later on, but it is an expense. The shocks for the LLS are around $200 each, for standard suspension between $80-$120 depending on manufacturer. I've never seen a special call out for specific shocks to be used for the RSC system -at least not up through 2010.

same issues on my 2008 Limited.... bought new and paid $50k+ for the vehicle. First had an issue with bubble on the tailgate. Ford DID fix this issue as we continued to escalate with their customer service team. however, I now have severe bubbles on the hood. From what I've seen I dont see them taking any action to help. Its a shame as these are the things that could help Ford develop a lifetime customer. given the fact they are unwilling to recgonize and address the quality issue I will likely jump to another MFR.

I have an 07 Expedition EL Limited. Rust and corrosion on tailgate. I too have searched blogs and found Ford to have cross-contamination in the aluminum. I drove snowmobiles for thirty years with an aluminum chassis in every type of moisture known without ever a hint of rust. Aluminum does not rust. I bought the car certified which includes one of the certification policies of ' no paint defects'. Ford stated they had nothing to do with the program and it was up to the dealer. The dealer stated, I got the best deal, what did I expect. Took it to another dealer who said he would bring the rep in to look at it. He cancelled once, then twice, then just said the car was in an accident and was repainted. (his reason was the hitch was repainted). Finally repaired it myself. Then last summer while in Canada, my sister's 08 Lincoln Navigator has, you guessed it had a rusted lift gate. I too heard of the bulletin and talked to Ford auto body managers and know that the bulletin even suggests how to repair their problem, but they will not issue a recall. Well to make matters worse now all my rocker panels and the door thresholds are rusted out with actual rust holes and I am ready for round 2. Worse than being wrong is not admitting it, my parents taught me that. I will never buy another Ford again due to their lack of old fashioned integrity. I will also advise my 3 kids to never buy one. It appears Ford will loose generations of business to save a few bucks from their mistakes. By the way I have owned a 66', 76, 79, 86, 87, 92, 96, 07, and numerous Ford trucks between 95 and 03 for business, never again.

Bought a 2012 Expedition, already has corrosion issues on back hatch and under hood. Unfortunately, assumed, being a new vehicle, would not have this type of issue so was not anal upon checking paint. Did not discover issue until 60,460 kms. Well, now over warranty. This issue did not develop within then last 460 kms. When contacting Ford, was told this is a common problem. (Well Fix It!). Spoke to a body shop, who also confirmed this is a common problem. Extremely irritating when a company knows of an issue for years, and yet continues to sell a vehicle ($$$$$$), knowing full well of problems. I am sure they are hoping no one discovers until after warranty. UGH!!!!!

2013 Texas Small Claims Court Victory &#150; 2003 Pre-Owned Ford Expedition: A Texas Couple purchased a used 2003 Red Ford Expedition from a private owner in 2009. In 2012, the Expedition began showing signs of severe paint flaking on the roof and lift gate. They became aware from a 2011 NBC Chicago newscast that factory paint data existed on vehicles manufactured by Ford. They correlated the factory data with the paint issues. They found the issues were directly on the vehicle where the Expedition was painted below Ford&#146;s minimum paint thickness specifications. They filed a claim in 2013 under specific elements under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. They won $5,000 from Ford for the repainting of the Expedition. They did not use a law firm, rather they did it themselves. However, law firms would be beneficial to contact for assistance.

My 2008 expedition is bubbling on tailgate and the hood , ( next to the grill). Both are really bad. Anything you can send to me , or direct me to would be great. The rust will be soon popping through. The brakes are giving trouble with the calipers, and I have replaced one window motor, and another is bad, and another is very very slow. Thanks a lot.

[email address removed], any help would be great. Not familiar with doing this.

My 2008 started bubbling in same places as yours in 2011. You have to sue Ford to get relief. I chose not to go through the grief and cost. FYI repairs to the hood and tailgate will probably run you about $1200. There will be no rust popping through. The tailgate and hood are of sheet aluminum, thats why the paint is bubbling. Contaminants in the air when painted by the contractor at the Ford assembly plant (Louisville KY I think). It is a normal thing to have power window problems in the XP. I replaced both of mine at about 100K miles. I have 125K miles on it now and it is still going strong. Be sure to replace the spark plugs at 100K miles. If the shell type let the dealer do it. Depending on when engine was built will depend on which spark plugs you have; conventional or those cheapo shell types. I will still buy another one but I hope by then they have the paint contaminant issue under control. Dealer here in Green Bay says that he has to repaint EVERY trade in EXPY because of the paint bubbling issue.

I have same problem with paint bubbling in my 2010 Expedition. A known problem by Ford, but they will not cover under their corrosion warranty until a hole brakes thru. By this time you have a totally rusted out tailgate and likely the warranty is expired, hence their policy. Now no cost to them. Would love to hear if anyone has had success with Ford covering this before the rust holes appear.

Vehicle owners with issues pertaining to blistering/peeling paint on Ford vehicles have taken the automaker to small claims court. This has resulted in vehicle owners winning repaints (some $5K and above). Owners have taken action and have received repaints or payments in NJ, MI, OR, NY, ID, IL, IN, MA, MD, CA and TX. Most of the vehicles were out of warranty, many were pre-owned. However they still prevailed. Details presented on the Ford Mercury Paint Peeling Facebook Site.